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Seething in anger !

A country is angry again. People are seething in disgust at the apathy of the situation. But the woman in power does not care. She believes it is all a "misconstrued" plan by media and her opposition to tarnish her party image. That's all.

So when a 20 year old college student gets gang raped and murdered in West Bengal's 24 Parganas District, the chief minister of the state- Ms. Mamata Banerjee's first reaction is to shrug off the matter as a one - off incident. But when that does not work, she claims it to be a "concocted" event, plotted and schemed by her opposition, all in the name of slandering her political image.

Unfortunately, her claims are false and the rapes are real.

The recent spate of horrific sexual assault against women have put the state back into the spotlight. According to the figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau ( NCRB) , West Bengal has recorded the highest number of crimes against women for the second consecutive year in 2012. According to the report, the number of cases of crime against women stands at a staggering 29,133- the highest in the country, including 2,317 cases of rape alone. So even after looking at these figures, the minister remains in denial and fails to take any action..

A question which seems befitting to ask now is - Does a woman in power, help to stop the crimes against women in her own state? Does a woman in power care about her own clan being brutally attacked and murdered, while she watches in absolute silence?

In the case of Ms. Banerjee, she continues to remain indifferent. Being a woman and living in West Bengal right now, i feel ashamed and helpless right now. My state has failed me. I hope she is reading this right now. I hope she realizes that this 'macabre' against women has to stop. I hope she rises above the petty politics and reassures us punitive action against the offenders. I hope my faith in humanity and my dream of a better society remains intact.

Comments

From what I have read, anyone who even hints at being dissatisfied with their lives are branded as supporters of the opposition by Banerjee and silenced through threats and coercion. It seems that many held hope that her election would signal a step forward for women's rights but their hopes were quickly dashed. It is indeed disappointing and highlights that we cannot assume that just because she is a woman, she supports women's rights.

Yes, you are completely right Janice. There seems to be no way out of her undemocratic and dictatorship regime. Women suffer the most because of her outdated beliefs in petty politics and unreasonable ideals.

There have been many protests, including some outside her home in Kolkata, wherein women protesters have gathered to question her and demand answers. They were met with immediate arrests and manhandling by the police. Sad, that a lady in her position is so far fetched from reality.

It is so frustrating but the truth is that not all women defend women. It's a shame when such a thing slaps you on the face. so hard to speak in the public, talking less to boost of having a woman in power and yet she defends patriarch interests.

while reading through your article, I immediately reflected on Mama's, a power feminists writer, who used the word - ' patriarchal females '. I love this particular statement. In it she made us to understand that there are women who take key positions and behalf like patriarchs

What a shame when a woman in power do not emphatize with issues of women. How do the women constituents take that? How do women think about rape. Women should be angry. Let the women talk about it and act on her inaction. Never vote for insensitive women and men. They don't deserve to lead.

This lady is shameless. She not only refuses to empathize with the victim and her family, she also strongly believes in victim blaming. She will first blame the victim, her clothes, character, her opposition , media and then if sense prevails, the offender. That is how it is in West Bengal. It is dictatorship taken to extreme.

The national machinery on women and gender equality must take on the job of sensitizing the politicians and women in government. This is just one among the many interventions that needs to be done to end the culture of apathy towards violence against women.

I appreciate that you brought this here addressed to a woman who is there on top, but not on the side of women. i think there should be a collective effort to raise this towards her.But one thing keeps worrying me is how many rapes will pass through to realise that we are humans.

Its really shameful and sad that being a woman herself, she couldn't understand the pain of another woman. It proves that Power doesn't always allow you to work through reasons and conscience. It makes one corrupt, and most often, leaves one craving for yet more power. I hope ministers would have a little more realization that they have power to make or destroy millions of people's lives. Thank you for sharing this!

I absolutely echo your thoughts on this. But this lady and her musclemen remain unmoved by all that is happening.

I had read once that not everybody is meant for power. Not everybody can handle power. She is a fitting example of this. Sad, people here that Ms. Banerjee would bring in a wave of positive transformations in our society but everything fell flat.